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Cross Dressing in the Civil War
By Diane Kaye
I have been reading a book by Webb Garrison entitled "Civil War Stories". It is a collection of oddities of the civil war. For those of you not familiar with the history of the United States, the Civil War, also called the War between the North and South, took place in the 1860's between 1861 and 1865. During that time 623,000 soldiers died and there were 10,455 military events. In one of the chapters of the book there are descriptions of cross dressing, some for spying and some not so planned. The following are some excerpts.
A Captain Lyons of the north wanted to get a first hand look at the nearby southern military camps. He turned himself into "old Mrs. Alexander" who wore bombazine and a heavy black veil. Sometimes he posed as a farm woman and other times as a woman of wealth.
In divided Kentucky, guerrilla bands existed. One band was lead by a tiny man known as Marcellus Clarke. According to the local newspaper, he frequently disguised himself as Sue Mundy and lead a double life until March 1865 when he was captured and hung. He apparently lead this double life very successfully for a long time.
Jesse James, as a young man, disguised himself as a woman to scout Federal positions. Since he had little beard, and smooth skin, it was easy for him to don the disguise.
Private Benjamin Stringfellow, from the 4th Virginia Cavalry, had light colored hair and weighed less than a 100 pounds. He was given the job of spying. When properly-dressed he was described by admirers as "making a really attractive girl". In this disguise he entered Federal occupied Arlington to gather information. This information was of great use to General P.G.T. Beauregard.
Captain George Hollins dressed as a woman companion. Together with four other "workman" they boarded the U.S. Nicholas. When the steamer reached Point Lookout, Maryland, a woman in a hoop skirt came aboard. She registered herself as Zarvona, a French lady. She went below to her cabin, and shortly there after, a confederate soldier climbed on deck with a handful of pistols. The other passengers of this group also drew their weapons and captured the ship without a fight. This vessel was then taken up the Rappahannock river towards Fredericksburg and transformed into the CSS Rappahannock. Zarvona tried the same scenario again, but by this time she was recognized and captured. She was discovered to be Col. Thomas. For a time the incident caused Thomas to be the most celebrated prisoner in Federal captivity.
A Brooklyn girl known as Emily dressed as a boy and enlisted in a Michigan regiment as a drummer boy. She was fatally wounded during the second day's fight at Chickamauga where a male nurse discovered her true identity.
Loreta Velaques of New Orleans dressed as Lt. Harry Buford so she could accompany her husband to war. She was never discovered and in later years wrote her memoirs telling how she became a secret agent.
Sarah Edmonds disguised herself as Franklin Thompson and enlisted in the Michigan Infantry on May 1861. She was in the battle of Antietham and escaped without injury. She later contracted malaria, and to avoid detection during a medical examination, she deserted. Later she played the role of a Negro slave wearing a wig made of real "Negro Wool". In 1884 Sarah attended the regimental reunion minus her disguise. Her comrades helped her get her desertion conviction over-turned. According to the record of the Grand Army of the Republic, it is suggested that she was the sole female member.
I have spoken to a woman friend who is into civil war reenactments. She claims that there were many women who disguised themselves as men to partake in the war. They were often referred to as "female impersonators".
I hope you have found these bits of knowledge interesting. If you want to learn more, contact Promontory Press. The Library of Congress number is 96-79833, ISBN: 0-88394-098-1.
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Ed. Note: We've been told in no uncertain terms that a story by Hebe Dotson that mentioned that Jefferson Davis, president of the defeated Confederate States of America, disguised himself as a woman in an effort to escape from a Union prison was not true. "Yankee Propaganda" we've been told. It was actually Jerry Springer, not Jefferson Davis, who did this...
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